


Emily

by YourLocalPriestess



Series: Queen & Lionheart [9]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, it's lovely, they talk about feelings and shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-15 01:55:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11796024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourLocalPriestess/pseuds/YourLocalPriestess
Summary: Vivian Ryder's life began anew when she arrived in Andromeda, and she doesn't particularly like discussing her life in the Milky Way - even with her girlfriend.





	Emily

**Author's Note:**

> For Day 13 of Fanfiction Month! Prompt: Hurt/Comfort. I love my bbys <3

“I wanted to ask you something…” Vetra said while tracing patterns over Viv’s stomach.

Vetra’s voice had that soft, new tone in it that made goosebumps rise all over Viv’s skin. It was a hum, almost a background noise, that came from deep in the woman’s chest and only emerged recently, and only when they were alone. Even now, with both of them laying in her bed with Kadara and its sun lighting up the room, Viv was grateful for the relative darkness that, hopefully, hid her blush.

She snuggled closer to the woman, burying her face in the crook of her neck and placing a kiss there. Her plates were comfortably warm against her – something that still surprised her, at times.

“You can ask me anything,” she said, smiling, even though Vetra couldn’t see it.

Vetra was quiet for a moment, staring at the ceiling and tracing patterns on her back.

Viv leaned up on her elbow and peered at her. “What’s on your mind?”

Her mandibles fluttered for a moment and she didn’t tear her eyes from the ceiling. “Have you ever been in love?”

“What?” Viv frowned. “Why do you ask?”

“I was just thinking about this. Us.” Vetra looked at her finally. “And Max.”

Her frown deepened. “Why?”

“It’s just – she and Reyes – how dedicated she is to him, despite every horrible thing he’s done. It’s this all-encompassing passion that she has.”

“Yeah…?”

“I’ve never felt anything like that before you.” She turned to her, a small half smile on her face. “I guess I’m curious about you. You don’t really talk about the Milky Way.”

Viv pursed her lips and laid flat on the bed so she was looking at the plain, steel ceiling. “There’s not much to talk about.”

“Well there’s clearly something.” Vetra stilled next to her. “You just shut down. Right there.”

Viv sighed and shrugged, biting back a sarcastic comment. “Yeah.”

“So you’ve loved someone else before?”

“Yeah.”

“Who was she?” Vetra leaned on her elbow and looked down at her face.

 

_"Emily, are you ready? I don’t want to be late,” Viv called over her shoulder as she did one more cursory check of their bedroom. The bag they were each allowed to bring onto the Hyperion wasn’t big, and forgetting something at home would be a fuck ton bigger deal in this scenario._

_She looked up when there wasn’t a response. “Em?”_

_Still silence. Viv frowned and abandoned her bag on the bed as she walked into the living room of their apartment._

_Emily was sitting on the couch, but not in her normal way. Not leaning back into a corner and consuming the space with her endless legs. No; now she sat at the edge of the cushion, staring at the floor. A bird on the edge of flight, with an empty bag at her side._

_Ice traveled through Viv’s body, stopping her in place. “What are you doing?”_

_Emily looked up then. Tears were streaming out of both of her eyes and her entire face was red and swollen. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed._

_"No,” Viv choked out, shaking her head. “No. No, no, no.” Her body wouldn’t move toward her. It wouldn’t listen._

_"I can’t do this, V. I can’t leave. I’m not brave like you.”_

_"Em.” Her voice was no louder than a breath, her lungs incapable of more. Finally she fell forward, tripping over her feet until she was on her knees before her lover, gripping her_ _hands in both of her own. Emily kept her eyes on anywhere but her face. “This isn’t about_ bravery _. It’s about us. It’s about getting the fresh start we’ve always wanted.”_

 _“That_ you’ve _always wanted about,” Emily sobbed, yanking her hands out of her grip. “Jesus, V. Are you blind?”_

_Viv blanched. “What are you talking about?” She tried to reach for her cheek, but Emily smacked her hand away and stood up, causing Viv to clamber to her feet after._

_“I’m happy here. I’ve always been happy here. With our life, our friends, our_ jobs _. Us, for fuck’s sake! You’re the one who’s not satisfied.”_

 _“Not satisfied? Emily, you’ve helped me_ plan _for this shit. You told me we should do it. What kind of fucking turnaround is this?”_

_“I changed my mind!”_

_The shout was as loud as a gunshot in Viv’s head, and just as deadly._

_“What about us?” she finally managed, her voice mangled and raw._

_“It’s not enough.” More tears ran down Emily’s face as she spoke. She began backing toward the door. “I did love you. It’s just…not enough.”_

_“Don’t do this,” Viv sobbed out, reaching out with one hand. “Emily.”_

_She only shook her hand and palmed the control panel on the door as she backed into it. “I’m sorry, Viv.”_

_And then she was gone._

 

“Hello?”

Viv blinked and looked back at the other woman. “What?”

Her mandibles fluttered in a smirk. “I asked who she was.”

“Ah,” Viv sighed. “She was someone important to me, until she chose not to be.”

“What do you mean?” She tucked some hair out of Viv’s face and rested her hand on her cheek in the process.

Viv placed her hand on top of hers. “We were supposed to come here together, but she uh, she left me. The day before we were supposed to board the Hyperion.”

“Shit.” She frowned and rubbed her thumb over her cheek. “That’s horrible.”

“It was,” Viv said, leaning into the touch. “But we had two weeks from boarding to take off, where I was free to drink at my leisure when we weren’t training, so, I got by.”

Vetra’s hand guided her face so they were looking in each other’s eyes. Then she leaned down and impressed on her a quick, searing kiss.

And Vetra broke it, as quickly as she started it, and leaned her forehead against Viv’s. “I’m sorry she hurt you.”

Viv shrugged one shoulder and let her hand travel up the woman’s chest, placing feather-light touches on the sensitive skin between each plate as she did, until her hand rested on the side of the woman’s neck. “Don’t be. It shaped me for this. And if she hadn’t, I never could have had you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, you perfect lovely human! I hope your day and your life are swell <3 Any comments/kudos/what-have-yous are appreciated ^_^


End file.
